Social and ecological consequences of mining in India, and sustainable mining practices

Introduction

Mining is the extraction of minerals and ores from the earth's crust. India's coal, iron ore, bauxite and limestone feed its industry, but mining is counted among the main sources of environmental degradation, and its costs fall heavily on forest and tribal areas.

Ecological consequences

• Loss of land and forest. Mining uses up land, and the land around mines is converted to industry and polluted by its wastes. Because forests in India often stand over mineral deposits, mining clears forest and fragments wildlife habitat; at Sariska Tiger Reserve forest land was even denotified and leased for mining.
• Pollution of water. Mine wastes and processing effluents pollute rivers and groundwater.
• Pollution of air. Blasting, digging and transport raise dust and fumes that pollute the air around the mine.
• Degraded landscape. Open-cast pits and waste dumps leave scarred, unproductive land long after a mine closes, since minerals are non-renewable and the extraction itself has many side effects.

Social consequences

• Displacement of tribal people. Development projects in forest areas can displace thousands of tribal people who lose their homes, causing suffering for which there is rarely a satisfactory answer.
• Conflict of interests. There is a constant conflict between conservation and the mining departments; long-term ecological gains should not be sacrificed for short-term economic gains. At Sariska local people fought the mining lobby and filed a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court in 1991, about 70 mines being then close to the forest.
• Health of miners. Mine dust causes black lung disease (pneumoconiosis); fumes from incomplete dynamite explosions are extremely poisonous; methane from coal seams is a hazard, and radiation is a hazard in uranium mines.
• Accidents. Roof and rock falls, flooding and poor ventilation are the greatest hazards of underground mines, and explosions in coal mines have killed many miners.
• Loss of livelihoods for farmers and forest dwellers whose land, water and forest produce are taken or polluted.

Sustainable mining practices

1. Environmental impact assessment before clearance. Since the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, an EIA by a competent agency has been mandatory for environmental clearance; it must examine physical, biological and social parameters, so a mine should be sited away from fragile forests and wildlife habitats.
2. Safer methods. Surface mining is less hazardous to workers than underground mining, and metal mining less than coal mining; where underground work is unavoidable, ventilation, dust control and protective equipment reduce the risk of pneumoconiosis and gas.
3. Consent and fair rehabilitation of affected communities, with a share in the mine's benefits, instead of displacement without compensation.
4. Mitigation built into the clearance. An EIA recognises that some impacts are temporary and others continue or grow, and that they can be reduced by a variety of mitigation measures; for a mine these mean treating mine water before it is released, suppressing dust, keeping waste on lined dumps, and back-filling and replanting worked-out pits with native species as mining moves on.

Conclusion

Mining is necessary for development, but it degrades land, water and air and hurts the health and livelihoods of the people around it. Careful siting through EIA, safer techniques, rehabilitation with consent and progressive reclamation can keep its benefits while limiting its costs.